Brass Nataraja Shiva Dancing Statue, 11.5 in. Tall Hindu Spiritual Icon for Meditation Room & Home Altar

Hinduism is fraught with examples of divinities taking perplexing forms in order to protect their worshippers. One such avatar is Vishnu’s Narasimha incarnation, a ferocious half-human, half-lion, born to kill the demon-king Hiranyakashyap. While in most of his depictions Narasimha is shown in the process of killing Hiranyakashyap or with his consort Lakshmi, there are a few, rare images of him standing calmly. These images are known as kevala-Narasimha (literally, only Narasimha). A prime example of this form of Narasimha can be seen in the Chalukyan capital city of Badami.